Will San Francisco Tell Its Nudists To Cover Up?

Woody Miller, a "naturist," was among the men out on Market Street in San Francisco this day.

Kimhiro Hoshino
/ AFP/Getty Images

Originally published on November 19, 2012 11:30 am

San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener (yes, that's his name) says last year's law ordering those who bare everything in public to put a towel between their bottoms and public benches or restaurant seats hasn't stopped the complaints he gets about men who prefer to go without (clothes, that is) in the city's Castro District.

"I don't think having some guys taking their clothes off and hanging out seven days a week at Castro and Market Street is really what San Francisco is about. I think it's a caricature of what San Francisco is about," Wiener tells The Associated Press.

Those who enjoy being free and easy say they'll challenge the ordinance in court if it passes and is signed by Mayor Edwin Lee. A complaint already filed in federal court "alleges that [such a] ban infringes on the free speech rights of nudists and discriminates against those who cannot afford to obtain a city permit," the AP says.

Our friends at KQED revealed more about all this last month in a conversation with Wiener, Dan Schreiber of the San Francisco Examiner, Castro business owner Daniel Bergerac and nudist activist George Davis (the "nude yoga guy").